Bullets that fly fall too close to where my heart lies
by wolfypuppypiles
Summary: When the first shot rang out Hal's head snapped backwards at the impact of the bullet and the rest of him went limp making him drop to the ground with a thump. (Based on 5x8 hes not dead btw)
1. Chapter 1

Maggie jumped out of the truck with her gun at the ready, all her muscles tensed, ready to shoot anyone that threatened the members of the second mass. Tension was thick in the air and Maggie's chest felt tight as she tried to remember how to breathe because Hal Mason, the person she loved most in this alien infested world was standing in front of a firing squad with a bag over his head.

Tom started to make his speech and between him and Weaver they had most of the soldiers on their side within a few sentences. But one soldier, one diseased pig, raised his gun regardless and shot at the 'traitors'.

Yelling broke out and there was a well-placed bullet that dropped the pig just a few seconds after he fired but Maggie only had her eyes on Hal.

When the first shot rang out Hal's head snapped backwards at the impact of the bullet and the rest of him went limp making him drop to the ground with a thump. The black bag was still on his head and his hands were still tied behind his back but there was already blood streaked against the bullet holes of the wall behind him and more soaking into the dusty ground where he lay in the dirt.

Maggie screamed his name and sprinted towards him hardly noticing Tom untying Anne and Ben beside her. The blonde was knelt beside his body but she had to be sure she had to…..

Shaking fingers nudged their way under his collar to rest against his dirt streaked neck. Tom knelt beside her with a hand on her shoulder and asked with shaky words "Is he?" and Maggie nodded because there thrumming under her fingers was a pulse.

"He's alive." The small Mason family was surrounding them now, even Matt who'd climbed down from his rooftop perch as soon as he'd seen his brother drop, and they all helped to roll Hal over to untie his hands that were squished underneath his back.

Once his hands were free Maggie gripped the closest one to her and prayed that he would be okay because while there was a pulse there was still a lot of blood and the bag hadn't even come off of his head yet.

Tom Started to pull the black fabric from his son's head, careful to peel the wet fabric away from where it stuck to the wound, as Anne checked the boys breathing.

When the bag came off there were audible gasps from those gathered around and Maggie could hear Matt sniffing in the background. The quiet crying suddenly became muffled as Ben pressed his little brother's face against his chest not wanting him to look because there was just so much blood. It was smeared down half of Hals lax face and had started soaking through his hair to pool on the ground.

Anne took a look at the soldiers head and quickly found where the blood was coming from.

"It looks like it grazed him but it's pretty bad, and I don't even know if it's done any damage to his skull. His breathings uneven and he's losing blood fast; we need to get this bleeding stopped and get him to a room so I can treat him properly."

Tom quickly stripped his jacket to take off the shirt he had underneath and handed it to Anne to press to Hal's head. Weaver was taking care of everyone else and had a soldier bring over a stretcher for the Masons.

Maggie still had a hold on Hal's hand but had to let go to allow Tom and Ben carry him inside and chose to hold Matt's hand instead as they followed the stretcher.

As soon as they got Hal to a room they transferred him to a bed and everyone but Tom was pushed out of the room so Anne could examine him and get the head wound sorted. They were lucky they were at the army base because they had the resources and equipment here necessary to treat Hal properly and Maggie was grateful but she really just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

Maggie sat staring at the doors that Hal was taken through and squeezed Matts hand that still shook in her grip. Turning to the boy she wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his head of curls.

"He'll be okay Matty, he always is." She hated that he had to see his brother like that. Matt had seen his big brother in some bad situations but being shot execution style had to be the worst and she just wanted to pick the boy up and take him away from all this.

Harsh coughing startled both Maggie and Matt and as soon as the younger Mason turned to find it was Ben making those noises he jumped up and ran to his older brother.

"Ben are you okay?" Maggie stood as well taking a good look at the teenager. He looked feverish and exhausted as he slumped in the chair. Matt was holding his brothers shoulders and it looked as if Ben would have fallen from the chair if he wasn't.

Maggie had heard from Tom that Ben had been tortured but hadn't seen the damage till now. He really didn't look so good and Matt looked ready to cry again.

"He's probably just tired Matt, let's get him to a bed and Anne can check him over later. He'll be okay, right Ben?"

Maggie wasn't sure if the teenager was even listening but sighed quietly in relief when he nodded weakly.

"Yeah I'll be okay Matt I'm just tired. Don't worry about me and don't worry about Hal either he'll be okay especially that thick head of his."

Matt's lower lip wobbled a bit and he sniffed and wrapped his arms around his brother's neck and gave him a squeeze.

"I'm glad you're okay Ben, I didn't want to leave you and Hal and Dad but weaver said I had to get help."

Ben lifted a pale arm to rub his little brothers back. "You did the right thing Matt and we're all okay now."

Maggie could see that Ben was in pain and wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer but she waited till Matt let go to wrap her hands under his arms to lift him from his chair.

With Matts help she guided Ben through the doors to a bed in a small room not far away from where Anne and Tom were working on Hal.

By the time they settled Ben, on his stomach, in the bed he was already drifting off and Maggie watched with a small smile as Matt carefully tucked a blanket around his big brother. The blonde wished, not for the first time, that she had siblings or a family of her own but when Matt turned those concerned blue eyes to her she realized she did.

"Are you okay Maggie? You're probably real worried about Hal right?" Maggie just nodded as she sat in a chair a few paces from Ben's bed.

"Well Anne's taking care of him and she always saves people so she can save Hal. And Hal's tough he survived the eye worm and heaps of explosions and he was okay even after Pope took him, he'll be okay. Right?" The boy looked for Maggie for confirmation and although there were tears in her eyes she nodded.

This kid, had seen so much, been through so much and he was still protecting his family despite being the youngest member of it.

Maggie nodded again and reached out her arms as Matt came to hug her, those curls of his brushing against her cheek.

They waited there for a few hours and both of them almost drifted off a few times but finally Anne and Tom came out to talk to them.

Anne had obviously tried to clean off the blood from her hands but still had blood staining her shirt as did Tom and Maggie felt a little sick at the sight of it.

"Hal's head wound bled a lot but it isnt too serious, he has a severe concussion and a broken wrist and bruised shoulder from when he fell but I think he'll be okay."

Matt asked the question before Maggie could. "When is he gonna wake up?"

"I don't know Matt, the bullet that hit his head knocked his brain around a bit so he could be out for a few days or it could be week's and I don't know how he'll be when he wakes up either. I'm going to take him for a head-scan later and hopefully that should tell me more."

Maggie was glad to hear that Hal was okay but she didn't miss the worry in Anne's voice.

"What do you mean 'how he'll be when he wakes up'? Are you telling us there's damage?"

The doctor quickly reassured the soldier.

"I don't believe there's any brain damage but the concussion and any bruising to the brain could make him confused or seem a bit different when he wakes up. He could suffer memory problems or behavioral changes or he could be totally fine. I will know more with a head scan but we won't know for sure till he's awake which , like I said, could be days or weeks."

Tom looked almost shell shocked as he stood beside his middle child's bed and ran a hand through the boy's hair.

"Anne could you check Ben over? Maggie can sit with Hal and I'll take Matt to the hall for something to eat."

Anne nodded and ushered Maggie to Hal's room.


	2. Chapter 2

Maggie was eager to see Hal and fiddled with her jacket as she followed Anne down the hall to Hal's room.

"Is he really gonna be okay? You didn't leave anything out because Matt was there?"

Anne stopped at a door and smiled tiredly. "He'll be okay he was really lucky that the bullet only grazed him. It could have been a lot worse. He just needs to take some time to rest and heal but he'll be up and fighting again before you know it."

The doctor held the door open for her as Maggie stepped into the quiet room. Hal was pale and still in the hospital bed and the blonde could see shadows under his eyes already. She knew it was probably from the blood loss but she could also see the lingering bruises from his encounter with Pope and thought, with bitter humour, that they finally had a few days rest after near constant attacks and Hal wouldn't even be awake to enjoy it.

Maggie moved closer to the bed as Anne patted her on the arm and left. There was already a chair waiting by Hal's bed and the soldier sat down and took her boyfriend's hand in hers, squeezing it gently. There was gauze taped to the side of his head where the bullet wound was and his head was turned slightly towards her, dried blood making his hair stiff in some places.

There were a few medical supplies laying on a table near the bed so Maggie took a cloth and wet it at a sink nearby and took it back to the boy lying in the bed to carefully scrub the red from his face. The cloth quickly became stained pink and black, the dirt on his face coming off with the blood and Maggie sighed, quickly deciding to just wash his whole face and neck.

"Hal Mason you are covered in dirt. You know I'm sure you would enjoy this sponge bath a lot more if you woke up?" It was a little strange talking to someone that couldn't talk back. Hell, Maggie didn't even know if HalaHHHHHHHH could hear her but she couldn't sit there in silence and she hoped her voice would bring him back to her.

It felt good to actually be able to help by doing something with her hands and she continued to wipe the cloth over Hal's skin being careful not to wet any bandages.

"We're all real worried about you Hal, and I don't want to be staying here for too long after they tried to kill you guys. They have a lot of good resources here it's a good set up maybe we should just take over. Having a real bedroom again would be nice hmm?"

She thought back to the room she had shared with him so long ago, when he was still in his wheelchair. She missed that so much, being able to fall asleep in his arms and wake up to her favourite person each morning. Then after everything with her spikes and now Isabella they had been growing apart but Maggie still cared about Hal so much and she wanted him back so desperately. No matter what the spikes had made her do she never stopped loving Hal and now that they were gone she could repair their relationship to make it as strong as it was before. If only he wold wake up.

Hal was looking better without the blood and dirt but he was still too pale and Maggie put the now dirty cloth down. Moving to the side of his bed where his un-IV'd hand lay, Maggie picked up Hal's limp arm and wrapped it around her as she lay down on the small space left on the bed beside him.

She hadn't been held by Hal in so long and she laid her head on his shoulder as her tears fell on the bare skin of his chest. She gripped his hand as she cried letting out all the emotions she had tried to keep hidden till now.

He had almost died today, and while that as the norm now it had rarely come this close. He was lined up for execution and shot in the head and god, when he had dropped like that, she saw her entire reason for living fall to the dirt. She had thought he was gone.

The image of his blood sprayed across the bullet riddled wall was seared into her mind and she just needed him to wake up so that his blinding smile could replace the horrible image. She wanted desperately to see him smirk at her and make a joke. She could almost hear him say "Come on Mags don't tell me your going soft on me." But he lay unmoving, even his eyes were still under their pale lids and Maggie just hoped he could hear her.

"I love you so much baby and I'm sitting here waiting so you have to come back to me alright? You don't get to leave me alone in this war Hal Mason." As expected she got no response but stretched up to trail kisses along his stubbled jawline, up his cheek and finally on his lips, tugging his ear gently as she did. The blonde then pulled Hal's blankets up higher on his chest and snuggled back down, wrapping his arm back around her waist as she closed her eyes as fell asleep in her favourite persons arms.

….

"Dad I don't wanna get something to eat, I wanna see Hal." The kid whined, craning his head back to see Anne leaning over Ben as his father pulled him away to the dining hall.

"I know Matt but Maggie's with him right now and I'm sure she'd like some time with him."

The boy made face but complied with his father's tugging and walked beside him.

"I'm not even hungry."

Tom stopped walking and turned to his youngest with tears in his eyes and laid his hands on his shoulders.

"Matty we almost lost both your brothers today and I … I just want to make sure you're okay."

Matt looked at his dad and saw how scared he was and hoped that didn't mean Anne was lying about Hal being okay. Not wanting to see his dad so worried anymore he wrapped his arms around the older man's neck and held on tight as he felt his father's arms wrap around his waist in return.

"I'm okay Dad. And they will be too. You taught us to be strong."

Tom gripped his youngest tight and ran a hand over his head, holding him closer.

"I just hate that you have to be. I just want you boys safe, that's all I wanted."

Matt nodded in Toms hold.

"I know Dad."

The professor sniffed and blinked his tears away, releasing his hold on his son and standing up to resume walking to the dining hall.

"So you rode a motorcycle huh?"

Matt looked warily up at him as he followed.

"You're not mad?"

Tom laughed. "Before the invasion I would have been but no, Matt, I'm proud of you. You followed orders and snuck out of here to get help. Help that ended up saving the lives of four people, your brothers and Anne's included. You did good son and your right, your brothers will be fine. We'll take good care of them." He patted Matt on the shoulder and beamed proudly down at him making Matt smile back in return.

…

Anne inspected Ben but knew there wasn't much to do but let him rest and wait for the spikes to heal him but she cleaned the wound and gave him fluids through an IV anyway. The poor boy was exhausted and she carefully straightened out the blanket that had been laid over him. He was so young and already had the weight of the world resting on his shoulders. They all did really, but Ben had been fighting so hard in this war and was still judged, ridiculed, and now tortured for having the same spikes that he used to help people.

It just wasn't fair and the medic shook her head in frustration. It seemed people forgot that Ben was forcibly given the spikes by the skitters and chose to hate him instead of the things that did it to him.

Ben was put through a horrible experience and had chosen to use what he was left with to help win the war and to help others, even if it came at a cost to himself and she was so proud of him for it. She just wished others would see him for the hero that he was. All her Mason boys were heroes.

Anne sighed and ran a hand through the boy's hair, massaging the back of his head and the nape of his neck. Ben seemed to relax at her touch and the medic watched as his creased eyebrows smoothed out as he sighed in his sleep. Anne smiled and sat down beside his bed, hands continuing their gentle movements through his hair.

"I'm here kiddo, you're alright."

Anne stayed there, with him, so long she eventually fell asleep and Tom and Matt came back to find her slumped in a chair at Ben's bedside. Tom grabbed an extra blanket and draped it over his wife's shoulders, kissing her temple and deciding to allow her some rest before he woke her for some real sleep. Matt whispered goodnight to Anne and wrapped his arms around Ben, as much as he could without disturbing him, as a sort of hug before following his father to the next room where an empty bed lay waiting.

Matt climbed in and Tom kissed his curly head as he tucked him in. "Get some rest and you can visit Hal when you wake up okay?"

"Okay, thanks Dad. I love you." Tom smiled again and sat next to his son to stay with him till he slept.

"Love you too son."


	3. Chapter 3

Ben could feel his skin pulling itself together at his spine and it hurt, it really hurt. The spikes had been a part of him and he felt its loss. His other spikes stung and squirmed at the loss of their brother and it made it harder to concentrate. Anne was still holding his wrist, fingers resting against his pulse point as she watched his face warily.

"Well you're doing much better than yesterday but I'd still feel more comfortable if you stayed in bed." The doctor looked at the boy with a sympathetic smile.

"But there's really nothing I can do to make you stay in it is there?"

Ben shook his head and slid off the bed, leaning on it heavily even as he said he was fine.

"I need to see Hal. I'll be fine Dr Glass I'm just tired."

She grasped his arm and ducked down a little to meet his sad eyes with her own.

"And you're sure you're not in any pain?"

"It's nothing I can't handle."

Anne knew that Ben's spikes should help Ben heal faster but she really had no idea what his limits were anymore. After donating three to Maggie and having a fourth ripped out she didn't know if they could rely on the spikes ability to heal Ben. The doctor also knew that there was no stopping Ben when he wanted to see his brother and decided to simply monitor the teenager as he healed and support him if he needed.

The middle Mason shuffled down to Hal's room with Anne following behind, and sighed in relief when he saw his big brother. Maggie was still tucked at Hals side but stirred when the two entered.

"Ben, are you okay?"

The boy waved away the question with a flick of a hand and moved towards the bed where Maggie was climbing off, straightening Hal's blankets as she did.

Anne dragged in another chair and positioned it next to the bed for Ben to sit in before checking over Hal's vitals.

Ben and Maggie watched eagerly as Anne peeled the gauze away from Hal's head and briefly inspected the wound there before smoothing the dressing back in place and picking up his wrist instead.

Knowing the doctor was keeping track of his brother's pulse Ben kept quiet though as soon as Anne took her hand away the question burst forth anyway.

"Is he okay?"

Dr Glass sighed, a small smile lighting up her face. "I already told you he was fine Ben and you know I would tell you and everyone else if anything changed."

Ben nodded and relaxed a little, shuffling his chair closer to the bed and resting his hand next to Hal's. He wanted to hold his older brothers hand, he wanted to thank Hal for taking care of him in that cell they shared but no words came and he couldn't bring himself to touch the lax hand on those sheets. He knew Hal wouldn't respond and he knew the hand would be cold and unresponsive to his touch so he rested his fingers next to his brother's hand instead. Almost there but not quite touching.

"His pulse has actually improved which is a good sign. His body is replacing the blood he lost and his breathing is a little more regular and even which is also good. He's making improvements so at least we know we're heading in a good direction."

Maggie spoke up from her side of the bed, her hand holding tight to Hals, startling Ben a little.

"So he could wake up soon?"

The nurse bit her lip like she wanted to give good news but had little to offer.

"It's unlikely…..the head injury is still something I don't know much about. I'll take him for a head scan in a little bit now that his breathing and heartbeat are more reliable. I'll know more about how his heads doing then but for now just keep talking to him."

Maggie nodded but stood after looking at Ben. She had been there since last night anyway and she knew the others would want some time with Hal. The girl leaned over her boyfriend and pressed a kiss to his cheek before letting go of his hand.

"I'll come back later, do you want me to bring you back something to eat?" She directed her question at Ben but Anne interrupted when the teenager declined the offer.

"Yes thank you Maggie that would be wonderful, Ben would love for you to bring him some food." Maggie gave a wary glance to Ben but nodded at the doctor. Ben still looked like crap and she patted his shoulder on the way out.

Ben was still staring at his brothers pale fingers when Anne handed him a glass of water along with a stern look.

"Drink all of it, and if you need anything or if anything changes with you or Hal you tell someone or come find me okay? I have other patients to check on but your Dad and Matt should be here soon."

Ben nodded and watched the doctor leave before taking a sip from his glass. His whole body hurt and he was tired and wired all at once. The past few days had been exhausting and although his life was literally a war zone there was no denying that almost being executed had been terrifying.

The black bag over his face had felt suffocating and meant he had had no idea what was happening when his Dad had come with the others to save them. For Ben and Hal and Anne it had only been a countdown, making him so panicked he had been hyperventilating under the black fabric, an order to shoot, making him flinch and almost cry out though no bullets came.

The order to shoot was repeated over and over and Ben had had no clue what was going on. And then there was noise and crashes and people screaming but he could hear his dad talking and he had finally seen him when Tom took the bag off his head allowing the teenager to breathe and see what had happened.

He shook of the panicky feeling the memory of the bag had given him and hoped he wasn't developing a phobia on top of everything else. Hal's monitor beeped a little more frantically for a second, making Ben look up and see the lines of pain on his brothers face.

"Hal?" Easing out of his chair, the teenager lent over his big brother and scooped his hand in his own, Hal's fingers twitching in his grasp. Just as Ben started to think the man might be waking up his face smoothed out again and the monitor played out its usual rhythm.

Disappointed, the middle Mason took his seat back but kept his brothers hand in his and just kept waiting.


End file.
